When a television show comes right out and says it's going to psych you out in the end, it's safe to assume a few "gotcha" moments will be thrown into each season.

Such is the case with "Psych," where, over the course of the
series' first four seasons, writers dangled a possible Shawn/Juliet romance in
front of fans.

Shawn Spencer is, of course, a pretend psychic, with incredibly
in-tune powers of observation and a love for '80s films such as "The Breakfast
Club" and "The Karate Kid." Juliet O'Hara, meanwhile, is a sensitive,
straight-laced detective, and something of a romantic. In tandem with his best
friend (Burton "Gus" Guster), and her partner (Detective Carlton Lassiter), the
could-be couple solves crimes for the Santa Barbara Police Department.

Oftentimes, Shawn and Juliet are divided and work with their
respective associates. But, when they're together, there is no denying their
chemistry. Through loving looks, shared laughs, and occasional murders to
solve, Shawn and Juliet have formed a bond the audience hopes will eventually
turn into a romance.

Now, after keeping the two at arm's length for four
years, show creator and producer Steve Franks says Shawn (James Roday) and
Juliet (Maggie Lawson) may finally become a couple in season five.

"We've always said that the Shawn and Juliet development is all
about Shawn being ready for Juliet, and we think he's getting really close,"
Franks says. "So there's going to be movement in all those directions this
year. And I know we've dog paddled around it for quite a while, but we're going
to stop the dog paddling and actually start floating slowly with the current."

After fending off scores of Shawn's semi-serious attempts to ask
her out, Juliet turned the tables and asked him out at the end of season three. Somewhat shocked, he declined at the
time, as he was technically on a date with his reunited high school crush,
Abigail.

In season four, Shawn went back and forth with his feelings for
both women, and almost made a play for Juliet when she was hospitalized. Though
he held off, it was obvious he wanted to take their relationship to a different
level.

Lawson says Shawn and Juliet will revisit their feelings in season
five.

"I think we're going to get into it a little bit. ... Somewhere
there's going to have to be some conversation about it. And I'm seeing, as the
episodes are progressing, that we'll be seeing more of that now that some time
has gone by and everything is settling back into its normal place.

"It's like, OK, there is kind of still a little bit of an elephant
in the room when it comes to Shawn and Juliet and feelings that they've both
expressed and everything else. So, I think we'll be seeing a bit more of
recognizing that and dealing with it more this season."

The trick, Lawson says, is resolving all of the peripheral issues
surrounding the two characters.

"I feel like the writers and producers have done a really good
job," she says. "It's really, really, really tricky to keep this up for four or
five seasons, this sort of dancing around what I guess some would call the
inevitable. But it's not necessarily that. It's a really, really tricky place
because of what we do, our characters, for a living, in that we work together.

"And Shawn has lied -- this entire time -- about who he really is.
So, it opens a door to a whole bunch of stuff that they -- and that the
audience, too -- would have to have respect for him, if he was in a relationship
with somebody and having to come clean, and all of that.

"There's so many different dynamics that are touched on when it
comes to putting our two characters together. And I feel like, so far, in that
we've had other relationships and that we both recognize -- and they've done a
good job I think of showing the characters, you know, sort of recognizing what
they do, in that they work together, and how awkward that can be, and therefore
they've sort of avoided it. And I think it's kind of nice, because it's built
into a place that it will be avoided until it just can't anymore.

"And I don't know when that will be. But I feel like, you know, it
may be soon. Or at least there has to be a conversation, or something."

While both Roday and Lawson have been pelted with the
"will-they-or-won't-they" question for four-plus seasons, she says it's not a
sore subject. In fact, she is excited to see what might happen.

"I think it would be interesting for all of us to play that
dynamic if the characters get together," Lawson says. "But there's still some
interesting emotional beats that we can play with them not being together yet,
and sort of recognizing, as adults, how tough of a situation that could put
them in. And I think that, sort of, will build up the tension. And I think it's
really good to have that.

"But, it's clear how they feel -- kind of -- how they feel for each
other. It's kind of been said. So, yeah, doing the, sort of, the dance around
it is really, really, really exciting, and really, really interesting to play.
And, yeah, surely, with every season and with every script, it's always like,
‘What's going to happen now? Oh, look, they almost kissed! Nope, they're not
going to kiss. Oh, what are they doing! No, they're not.'

"So, it's ... exciting to sort of keep waiting to see exactly what
that moment is going to be."